Strong Enough
by Do The Cool Whip
Summary: Strength isn't easy to define, and even harder to measure. But as Shippou and Kuwabara are discovering; sometimes it isn't our muscles, spiritual or demonic abilities that make us strong; but our desire to protect. Naraku may have had the advantage in the feudal era, but in modern day Japan, two sets of heroes rise against him. A battle which transcends through time continues.
1. Prologue: How Did We End Up Here?

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.

* * *

They ran. They ran hard, fast and for as long as possible. In this world with a purple and red sky that neither was used to, it was the only thing they could do.

Making a sharp left, they dove into the bush at the edge of a forest.

"We have to go into the forest! It's the only way to lose them!"

The large one looked down at the much smaller one, nodding his head and scooping the smaller one into his arms. He began sprinting in the general direction of plant life, and seconds later the bush they'd been hiding in exploded.

He tripped and the tiny body went flying from his arms, but immediately it came bounding back.

"Get up! Get up!" The little one urged him and seeing the intense fear on the little guy's face, he picked both himself and the child back up before running again. Ignoring the hisses and growls following him, he made twists and turns in any and every direction, before losing their predators, and eventually coming across a cave.

He stopped a few feet away from it, something deep in his mind screaming at him not to go in there, like always, he listened to that little voice.

"We can hide in there, can't we?" the little boy asked, confused as to why they were leaving a potential safe haven.

"No," he began, "Something dangerous is in there."

He started running again.

He listened to the directions the little voice gave him; a small, miniscule tug in different directions. Eventually, they happened upon another cavern, one he did not hesitate to enter.

The first thing he noticed was one side of the cave was leaking; a black liquid streaming down from the ceiling. A strange plant was growing a few inches above the ground, and catching the liquid. What dripped down from the plant looked like, dare he hope, water.

He gently placed the child down on the floor, before the severity of his wound caught up to him and he collapsed.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, I've had a lot worse before."

"Oh." The kid didn't look very convinced. His bottom lip trembled and the larger man's heart went out to him.

"So, kid, where do you live?"

"I don't live around here." There was something off about the boy's reaction.

"Okay, but where do you live? I need to know so I can get you back there."

"Umm…" he held back a sigh of frustration.

"Come on, kid. I don't bite or nothing. You're just a kid, and it is my duty as a man, to make sure you get home to your parents, safe and sound."

The little boy seemed to be thinking. His eyes suddenly lit up as he remembered something.

"The Higurashi Shrine! That's where my friends and I are staying!"

"A shrine, in the Makai? That's a little weird, well, where is it exactly?"

"What's the Makai?"

The kid looked up at him with such a sincere look, he felt a pit of dread in his stomach.

"You're a demon, how can you not know what the Makai is?"

"Mama, never mentioned it before."

"I repeat," he said astounded, "What kind of demon doesn't know about Makai?"

"Mama is human." That made more sense.

"What's your name, kid?"

"I'm Shippo. And you?" His tails twitched slightly.

"I'm Kuwabara Kazuma."

"Ah." There was no recognition in Shippo's eyes, and that lead Kuwabara to the belief that something very wrong was going on. "We should patch you up."

He looked down and noticed the gaping hole in his side, and the pain that had been temporarily forgotten again returned.

* * *

It had taken a little while but the jacket he had worn, had been torn to shreds and turned into makeshift bandages. They had also migrated deeper into the cave, and confirmed that it was water, that was leaking from the plant.

"So, Shippo, how did you end up here?"

Silence. He sighed softly to himself.

"What type of demon are you?"

"I'm a fox demon!" he chirped.

There was a lot of pride in those four words Kuwabara noted.

"Oh really? What kind?"

"I'm a fox demon." There was no small amount of confusion in his response. The kid was staring at him like he was crazy.

Kuwabara studied him carefully. He distinctly remembered Kurama telling him that about three hundred years ago, fox demons became endangered. In response to that, they were broken up into three different categories, in order to determine which abilities and type was dieing out.

"I know that, but are you a Forest Fox, a Spirit Fox, or a Celestial Fox?"

"Umm… What's the difference?"

Now, Kuwabara could confirm something was wrong here. The part that wasn't adding up, was the fact that _he knew_, deep down he just knew, the little kit wasn't lying.

"There a very few fox demons alive, Celestial Foxes are the most common, they have no special abilities besides a small ability for transformations and illusions. Spirit Foxes are fox demons with a natural and amazing ability to control plants. Lastly, Forest Foxes have all but died out, they have an unheard of ability to transform, create illusions, and some have been able to exert a little control over the elements."

And Kurama had said he wasn't paying attention to that discussion.

"Hmm… In that case I'm probably, a Forest Fox." He watched the little kid analyze his decision very carefully, before he eventually came to a conclusion.

From there he carefully brought Shippo into a meaningless conversation, doing his best to lure the kid into a sense of security so he could finally get some answers. He felt a little bad tricking the kid into this, but it couldn't be avoided. Shippo couldn't be helped if he had no real information on the problem.

* * *

"So, Shippo, how did you end up here?"

He asked the question again about an hour later, after the two had gotten to know each other a little better.

The little boy bit his lip, nervously chewing on the flesh.

"If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone."

Kuwabara straightened immediately. He looked Shippo right in the eye.

"I, Kuwabara Kazuma, swear on my honour as a man, not to repeat anything that you tell me, unless absoulutely necessary. I give you my word, and as a man, I never break my promises."

Shippo looked a little stunned, his eyes wide with amazement. "Never?"

"Never."

"Not even if someone kind of annoyed you, and you wanted to hit them, but you promised not to."

Kuwabara gave Shippo a weird look but answered truthfully. "Not even then."

"Wow! You're even cooler than Inuyasha!"

Kuwabara felt himself swell with pride. It was hard to get praise when your closest friends were: the unbeatable and tough Urameshi Yuusuke, the wise and graceful Kurama, or the fast and furious Jaganshi Hiei.

Half the demons he had defeated didn't even respect him, simply because he was human. Take Rinku for example; if he had got back into the ring the second he had risen from the ground, he would have won that fight, and everyone knew that. Sadly, that didn't make Rinku respect him, hell, Hiei didn't even respect him, and they had been fri— teammates for years.

"Shippo, you never answered my question." he chuckled.

"Okay," Shippo took a deep breath his tails twitching nervously, "Here's what happened…" (1)

* * *

"Naraku!" Inuyasha leapt after the fleeing demon.

The sun shone brightly in the sky, wiping away the remains of a moonless night.

It was obvious to everyone, even to Inuyasha that his weakness had leaked out. For Naraku to have attacked on a moonless night, despite the fact that they were in a village meant something, especially when they were all targeting Kaede's hut.

Naraku had long ago learned that when protecting the innocent, their power tended to grow, and new abilities were unleashed. After that realization, he tended to corner them, and separate them instead, because he had come to another realization: united they stand, divided they fall."

It was an irritating realization, as with every plan he created the more he saw how pointless it was to try to divide them. They were so intertwined by fate that they kept coming back to each other.

The Hiraikotsu swept by him, and he easily dodged it. He tossed the hive of poisonous insects behind him, before Miroku had the chance to use his wind tunnel. Flying off to one side he landed near Kohaku and the next part of his plan.

"Dance of the Dragon." Kagura's voice flowed over the area, as large tornadoes flew through the small opening. He tapped into the Shikon's power feeling more irritation as it was noticeably less than the last time he had done this.

Still, hundreds of demons from all over the area swarmed the clearing as Naraku used the Shikon no Tama to influence them. His right hand ran over the jewel hidden in the sleeves of his cloak. A quarter of it was missing, at one time all that had been missing was the shard in Kohaku's back, but that cursed wench had shattered it again!

Once he felt Sango and the others arrive he started his show. The demons parted and he smirked at his most annoying adversaries.

"Watch now, as I demonstrate how weak you really are."

There would be no breaking of his barrier this time. With Kohaku in front of him, they wouldn't dare attack.

"Naraku, you coward, stop hiding behind Kohaku and fight me!"

Naraku chuckled lightly as Inuyasha began yelling at him.

Slowly, ever so slowly, his flesh began to expand, and engulf Kohaku. Immediately the boy began to struggle.

"Oh, and Kohaku," he made sure to speak loud enough for Sango to hear, "This is also the punishment for traitors."

"Sister!" Kohaku's frightened cry left his mouth, as he reached for Sango, before he was gone, completely absorbed into Naraku's flesh.

"Foolish boy, he actually thought I wouldn't notice he had broken away from my control." he chuckled to the others.

He watched in amusement at the rage, distress, and shock that clouded over Sango's face.

"ADAMANT BARRAGE!"

His barrier came crashing down and he laughed. "I repeat: this is a punishment for traitors."

Kagura let out a scream as a pain seared through her body from where her heart should have been. Seconds later she crashed onto the ground and was absorbed.

"Wind Scar!"

The next attack came out of nowhere, and Naraku grunted at the pain it caused. The Hiraikotsu shouldn't cause him that much pain.

It was the look of intense anger that informed Naraku that he'd done his job, and the group would be both depressed and vulnerable. It was then he would strike.

He turned to flee, mentally wondering where the fox kit and the damnable wench, who had managed to shatter the jewel twice, had run off to.

He jumped over the Bone Eaters Well, and that's when everyone's worse nightmare happened. A blue arrow flew from over head pinned Naraku sending him into the depths of the well. But another light, one they all recognized had appeared, and when they glanced into the well, Naraku wasn't there. (2)

Miroku's mind worked fast, coming up with theory after theory as to how this was possible, and mere seconds later he had his answer.

Inuyasha had jumped down the well, and was already fighting Naraku, but that didn't help them in the least.

"How?" Kagome's horrified voice floated through the clearing as Shippo landed, and once she was safely on the ground ended his transformation.

"Is it because Naraku had a jewel shard?" Sango wondered.

"No, just having a jewel shard isn't enough, but if my theory is correct, it might be part of the reason. Kagome give us a jewel shard."

Kagome rushed to do so, her hands trembling at the thought of Naraku in her time. They arrived at a bit of a problem, when she went to hand a shard to Kirara, but it was quickly solved when the feline opened her mouth.

"Let's go," Miroku mumbled to the others before turning to Kagome. "Stay here."

Kagome listened to Miroku carefully, because at the moment his calm firm voice was the only thing keeping her grounded.

Sango scooped up Shippo, and jumped into the well, followed by Miroku and Kirara. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened. "Now, Kagome, fire a sacred arrow at us."

"What?" Everyone turned to stare at Miroku.

"I'll explain it later, but right now we don't have time for—"

Miroku was cut off by Kagome's arrow shooting towards them, as it neared them they felt the ground beneath their feet disappear. After what felt like hours of floating around in the blue abyss, solid land formed under their feet, and the sound of fighting reached their ears.

They scampered out of the well, relying on the strange contraption hanging from the top. They rushed outside, and Sango threw her Hiraikotsu, which had barely fit into the well, at Naraku. Kirara transformed at the sight of Inuyasha being tossed aside by Naraku, and caught him with ease.

The fight was slowly crawling towards the forest that lay behind the shrine when _it_ happened.

"Wind Scar!"

"Inuyasha, you're here!" Sango froze up at the sound.

A little boy, only a year or two younger than Kohaku, was approaching. She already knew who it was; Kagome talked fondly of her brother.

"Souta, get back!" she screamed.

Miroku immediately ran towards the boy, Shippo slightly ahead of him. Naraku lunged at the boy as well, but a sacred arrow forced him to dodge out of the way.

"Don't even think about it Naraku!"

Seething slightly, at having that wench foil another plan, he smirked to himself as he thought of the perfect way to grab that boy.

"Kagome, why didn't you tell me you had a little brother?" he purred.

Once again he tapped into the Shikon's power, as Miroku stood in front of Souta and Shippo accidentally tackled the boy to the ground.

Demons of all sorts flew out of the gaping hole in his chest, none of them smart or strong enough to defy him. They flew in a large swarm towards Miroku and the two children behind him.

Miroku tightened his grip on the prayer beads, before closing his eyes so as not to see the poisonous insects.

"Wind Tunnel!" The quickly approaching demons were sucked straight into the void, but still more swarmed around him going after the two boys.

Out of nowhere, he received a blow to the head that rendered him unconscious, and left Shippo and Souta defenseless. (3)

Throughout Shippo's whole lifetime, there had never been a time when being stronger was the only thing on his mind. He would know, he was currently watching his life flash before him, and wishing that he was stronger. Strong enough to at the very least be able to protect Souta.

It was frustrating. He was a demon too! He wanted to help keep everyone safe, even if he was just a kid. Even the enemies Inuyasha hacked away with one swing of his sword were stronger, than he was! Why couldn't he do this!

Angry tears poured down Shippo's, as the uselessness, fear, anger, and protective instinct kicked in. It was those feelings and that exact situation that was needed to do something his father would have been proud of him for. It was something that had taken him many more years than Shippo had experienced to achieve.

A strange feeling shot through his tail, which he ignored. It wasn't exactly painful, but it wasn't pleasant either. His mind focused on how to swap places with Souta.

It was true that he could transform into the boy, but that wouldn't do, Naraku would simply grab them both instead. He needed to become Souta, and Souta needed to become him. If only…

"Why aren't I strong enough? !" his voice rang through the clearing as he suddenly felt tired, and a puff of smoke filled the small area. At this point he passed out.

The others watched as one of the demons grabbed Souta and took to the air, Naraku smiling cruelly at them.

"I'll be seeing you later."

Inuyasha and the prepared to take off after him, when Shippo was suddenly whipped at his face. That moment was all it took for Naraku to get away, leaving several of his Advance Guard behind. (4)

* * *

"After that I woke up and bit the demon carrying me, and it dropped me when you came and saved me. But Kuwabara, how did you break free of Naraku's control so quickly, and what did you do to the jewel shard in your back?"

Silence. Shippo peered up at Kuwabara with wide eyes.

"So you jumped through a well, and ended up here?"

Shippo paled as he realized what he had accidentally revealed. (5)

"Umm…"

Shaking his head, Kuwabara decided not to think too much about it. After all of these years, he had become able to identify when he had come across something that was just 'one of those things'. Besides, his sixth sense had already determined the kit wasn't lying and nobody sane would make up a story that weird. Not even Urameshi.

"Never mind, Shippo. What is it you want to know?"

"First of all, where you coming from?"

"My friend's house."

"What was that cool weapon you used to kill the demons?"

"My Spirit Sword?" He summoned it, and felt more pride well up inside of him at the sight of the kits excited face. He called it back in soon after so he wouldn't alert every demon in the area of his presence.

"What's it made from?"

"My spirit energy." Shippo's eyes formed a large 'O' and Kuwabara chuckled lightly at the kid.

"What exactly happened when you saved me? I couldn't keep up…" Kuwabara noticed the shame the kid felt at that revelation, and knew he had to do something to make the kid smile. He knew what it felt like to not be able to keep up.

"Well, I can't tell you everything, there was way to much stuff for me to follow, but I'll tell you what I remember."

He smiled softly as Shippo lit up, the shame melting away as he realized he hadn't been the only one to fall behind in the events.

* * *

Kuwabara quickened his pace as he headed home. It had been a typical night out with some university friends, which had included Keiko. Naturally after the fun had ended, he made sure to walk the girl home, because she had this ridiculous habit of getting into trouble.

In her defense, it was probably because of all the bad karma Yuusuke had built up. It obviously wasn't affecting him, so it had to be transferred to someone else they knew.

It wasn't long into his walk before he could sense demons, and a lot of them. He did the most instinctual thing that he possibly could. He rushed in their direction with no plan, and no backup should he need it. (6)

It was when he reached the park that he saw a single demon sucking up several others, none of which were resisting, and a small twin tailed demon running to get away from the madness.

"You little brat!" the demon with long black hair had finished sucking up the others and was going after the fox demon.

The demon squeaked a small "Help!" and that was all it took for Kuwabara to rush into battle.

"Get away from him!" The two turned to regard him, before the red-eyed monster snarled at him.

"I've had enough of you humans for the day."

A tentacle shot out of the demon and Kuwabara barely had time to dodge it. Without even thinking about it he summoned his spirit sword. Leaping at the demon he swung his sword over and over again, the demon managing to avoid each blow.

A single punch to his stomach was all it took to send Kuwabara flying across the ground, coughing up blood. One whiff of the blood was all it took for Naraku to realize something.

He took another breath, before growling in anger, there was no denying it. He walked over and yanked Kuwabara's right hand. Meanwhile, Shippo planned how he was going to save the human. He reached into one of his hidden pockets, and pulled out his top since it was his favourite attack.

He readied himself when suddenly, Naraku was pushed onto his back, he watched in amazement as the human immediately pulled his sword out of nowhere again, and sliced part of Naraku's baboon cloak, his other hand reaching in and pulling something out.

"What the hell is this thing?"

Naraku growled low in his throat, ready to kill the human, when a thought struck him. He reached out with one hand, and easily dislocated the elbow of the arm, the jewel resided in. It flew into the air and he caught the Shikon with ease, placing it back into the remainders of his cloak.

"Tell me boy, how is it you knew where the Shikon no Tama was?"

"The Shikon no whata?"

Naraku resisted the urge to slaughter the boy where he stood.

"The jewel. How did you know exactly where it was?"

"It's glowing like fuck, how the hell is it hidden?"

His eyebrow rose slightly at the expression, but a small smirk grew on his face.

"Tell me boy, how would you like the chance at unlimited power?"

He silently chuckled to himself. Humans were the most greedy and arrogant creatures on the planet. They'd do anything to get power. Just look at Onigumo he was "living" proof of that fact.

"Don't do it! You can't listen to him, he's evil!" Shippo could see where this was going. He prepared his top when a tentacle, smacked him to the side and he hit his head hard.

"Shut up." Naraku spoke calmly to Shippo, as if he hadn't tossed him across the clearing and into a tree. (7)

"You're crazy if you think I'd accept power from a… a… a… megalomaniac like you!"

Kuwabara was a little disappointed that his mouth had started talking before he could come up with a proper insult but knew a late insult was always better than no insult.

"Megalomaniac?" Naraku repeated, the strange word rolling off his tongue nicely.

"Yeah, a megalomaniac." Kuwabara stared at the demon like he was nuts. "You know, a person whose power hungry."

"Ah, that is a rather accurate description. However, if you don't come willingly, I'll just have to take you by force."

Kuwabara opened his mouth for a comeback when suddenly he had a tentacle through his side, and then a blow to the back of his head rendered him unconscious.

Shippo did the only thing he could do. He did what he knew would make Kagome proud. He leapt at Kuwabara and clung to him, wiggling into the man's clothes so that he could stay with the human and try to think of a way to get him out of harms way.

Little did he know, he had subconsciously sent out an illusion of himself without the use of a leaf, one that had fled the scene and had caused Naraku to almost over look his presence. Almost. After all, Naraku had not become a powerful demon without his brain, and ability to thoroughly check his surroundings. (8)

And by doing just that, he managed to find a small hole in the barrier that had always been separating the world. If he was right, then the rule about humans and demons not being allowed to mingle was currently being enforced. (9)

...

When Kuwabara awoke it was to a dark room, and to feeling a lot stronger then he had before. Rising he heard a slight whimper and turned to look at some kid, the poor thing looked frightened.

And for good reason. A demon was about to devour him.

Kuwabara leapt to the kid's defense and slammed his fist into the approaching demon. He didn't stop whaling on the green demon until it had stopped moving. It was only then he realized that maybe, he should have gotten answers from the demon and then beat it to death.

Oh well.

"Hey kid, are you alright?"

The demon nodded at him wide eyes staring up at Kuwabara. After a few minutes of silence, Kuwabara was able to remember the past events leading up to this moment. Finally recognizing the kid as demon he had been trying to save earlier, Kuwabara scooped him up, and walked over to where he could see a door.

Promptly, and effortlessly, he ripped it off its hinges, and entered the room.

Naraku watched Kuwabara intently as the human entered the room.

"Honestly," he smirked when the human jumped, "I thought it would take longer for you to get out of that room."

The demon's voice was coming from all around the room, and to make matters worse he couldn't see. That was something that worried Kuwabara, because he could always see his surrounding.

He closed his eyes and focused; he blocked out the little demon trembling on his shoulder, and focused.

Nothing.

Wait. Not nothing, there was something, it was pure evil. It didn't feel alive, but it didn't feel dead either. He pulled out his spirit sword and launched himself in that direction, his eyes landing on a bright pink glow from in front of him.

He was suddenly thrown back into a wall. He shifted just enough so the tiny demon wouldn't be crushed between his shoulder and the wall. The result though was to much pressure on his other shoulder, and a 'POP!' as it was dislocated.

"So I was right. You can sense the Shikon no Tama!" (10)

Kuwabara didn't reply. He had no idea what the hell this loon was talking about and he didn't really care. All he had to do was kick his ass.

Standing up, Kuwabara snapped his shoulder back into place. He growled at the demon.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"My name? My name is Naraku." the voice purred to him. "And you, Kuwabara, are my slave."

"I am no—how do you know my name?"

"Don't worry about that. You'll be of great use to me."

There was a sudden pain in his back, and he suddenly lost his ability to control his body.

"Now, Kuwabara, kill the brat."

"_What? Are you stupid?"_ He meant to say that out loud, but he couldn't seem to move his mouth. When his mouth did open though, it did not say what it was supposed to.

"Yes, Master Naraku."

"I wouldn't fight it; you'll just wear yourself out." His body had turned to face the little kid. "The Shikon shard I implanted within your body won't allow you to disobey."

The what in his where now?

"_He actually thinks I'll attack the kid I was trying to protect. This guy is off his rocker."_

Next thing he knew, his spirit sword was out and before he could register what was going on, he had lunged at the kid. (11)

He was swinging rapidly, but thankfully the little red head was dodging his every move. His spirit sword swung straight now, and pierced the ground between the kid's twin tails. He was horrified at the thought that he had almost hacked one of the things off, and he struggled harder for control over his body.

Again and again he swung at the kid; he was getting closer and closer to him. This wasn't fair; he didn't want to hurt the little kid. Why couldn't it have been Kurama or Yuusuke in this situation? Hell, even Hiei would have been better than him. They never would have been controlled this easily, at least then the kid would have had a chance. More importantly, he was letting someone take control of him, and cause him to commit evil deeds. That went against a big chunk of his code!

Damnit, no! His hand stopped for a moment and the kid barely escaped the blow. He could hear Naraku chuckling in the distance. He fought and fought against his body, and realized that this was probably how Dr. Ichigaki's team had felt. He kept struggling even when he mentally felt exhausted.

And when his mind and spirit collapsed from the sheer amount of energy he had used, he struggled some more. (12)

"_Damnit! Why can't I stop him? Why can't I stop myself? Why aren't I strong enough? !"_

It was that mental outburst that caused Kuwabara to tap into an ability he and only two others possessed. It didn't matter that his power was limited and would never be strong enough to do this again. If Shizuru knew the implications of what he could do, it would have filled her with pride.

A light emitted inside of him, and the next thing Kuwabara knew, he had grabbed the small demon and started running. He broke down a wall, and hordes of demons were after him, chasing him as he ran for safety. His only goal being: Get the child home to his parents.

Naraku watched them go. The demons he had managed to gather up, were significantly weaker than the ones he was used to, he would have to figure where he was before he could plot.

As for the boy, he was useful. It wasn't unheard of for humans to be able to see jewels shards… once they got close enough. Sango was a prime example of that. However being able to sense the shards of the Shikon Jewel made him a valuable asset. He would have to look into the human's life and find out who needed to be killed, maimed, and threatened to get the human to play nicely.

Unfortunately, it would have to wait until he could figure out how to taint the boy's soul. As long as Kuwabara's soul remained as pure as it was, he would be able to purify the Shikon. And even though Kuwabara would never be able to purify a shard that thoroughly again, he was useless if just by touching a shard he could purify it slightly.

Miroku and Sango had some damn annoying descendants.

* * *

"And that's everything." Kuwabara wrapped up.

Shippo made a humming noise, before leaning over to examine Kuwabara's back. He examined the area that he had seen Naraku place the Shikon shard. He couldn't really tell much about it without looking at it, but when he moved to remove the shard, Kuwabara tensed.

"Don't." Shippo jerked around to stare at him. "I know it's crazy, but I had a dream and in it, someone told me that not to remove that thing from my back. That she would take care of it with my help. She held up her end of the bargain, so now I got to keep mine."

"Okay." Shippo looked at Kuwabara nervously.

"What is it?"

"Can I… Can I sleep with you? I always curl up with someone but…" When Shippo's big green eyes turned to him, Kuwabara didn't have the heart to say "no" to the kit.

Instead, he merely opened his arms and let the kit hop into them. He did his best to keep Shippo warm and slowly they fell into a light sleep.

**Because of these events Shippo never found out it was because of Menomaru that Miroku realized that the Sacred Arrow had the ability to travel through time. **

**When the roots of the Sacred Tree had filled the well, Kagome firing a single arrow from her time, managed to destroy the roots on both side. Miroku's theory that possessing a shard of the Shikon no Tama and allowing the Sacred Arrow to transcend through time would grant passage to anyone, was correct.**

**Kuwabara never found out that Yuusuke had dragged both Hiei and Kurama out for a night of partying. Completely unaware of the danger he left everyone in simply by wanting a night of fun, before Keiko yelled at him for not going to work again.**

**If he had known he was leaving his loved ones in danger, he would never have done it. It was only because Shizuru came looking for Kuwabara that anyone realized something was up, especially when Keiko said he had headed home hours ago.**

**Koenma on the other hand, found two relatively stationary strong demon energies, and one huge mass of demonic energies all moving together.**

**Naturally he ignored the stationary ones because he recognized one of them. It tended to get rid of some of the messes in Tokyo before he could send Yuusuke on the case, that is while Yuusuke had been a Spirit Detective. For the most part it would probably disappear in a day or two, nothing to worry about. The other one seemed like a job for the Spirit Detectives, of which he had none, as it had just cut through the Kekai somehow.**

**Kuwabara and Shippo realized a new adventure was beginning for them. Yuusuke and the others realized something big was on the horizon. Inuyasha and the others panicked over what was happening to Shippo. Koenma resisted the urge to bang his head on the desk at the recognition of the next great evil. As for Naraku, he just gathered as much information on Kuwabara and this new world as possible, perfectly content to bide his time.**

_**TBC**_

I tried soooo hard not to write this. This just popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone. Part of the reason for this is all of the Kuwabara hate in the world. I really don't understand it. Anyways, if anyone for some crazy reason likes this leave me a review, if I think the general population likes it I'll update. This is the prologue, and no other chapter will be this long… I hope. Also, all the numbers are places where I considered ending the prologue. Can you believe I actually managed to write this in one sitting? Man, I have no life.


	2. Why Can't We Enjoy The Simple Life!

Why Can't We Enjoy the Simple Things In Life?

"Spirit Sword!" His energy materialized in his hand instantaneously and Kuwabara began slashing at his opponent. Shippo clung desperately to Kuwabara's shoulder racking his mind for a way to help.

A thick tentacle swiped at Kuwabara, its target being Shippo, and missed when the red head stumbled over a rock. Seizing his opportunity, Kuwabara chopped off the tentacle and lunged at the demon. The demon manipulated its remaining tentacles and managed to drag its body back into the lake where it was out of Kuwabara's immediate reach.

Shippo yelped when Kuwabara suddenly jumped to the side. Opening his mouth to ask about the sudden movement, he closed it again when the smell of blood reached his nose.

Kuwabara's blood.

Peering down over the human's shoulder, Shippo gasped at the sight of the tentacle that had been hacked off, squirming through the new hole in Kuwabara's side. Seconds later Kuwabara had cut the tentacle again, and tossed both halves to the ground in front of him.

They both watched in muted horror as the tentacle pieced itself back together, before slowly inching its way back towards the octopus demon in the lake.

"It regenerates?" he heard Kuwabara whisper.

Shippo closed his eyes and thought. This wasn't normal, of that he was sure. Most demons didn't regenerate and those that did should require more time, unless…

"Kazuma, do you see a jewel shard?"

"What?" Kuwabara blinked, it was a shock to hear his first name, but more so to be asked about a jewel shard. "What does a jewel shard have to do with killing this thing?"

"A shard of the Shikon no Tama, it's the only thing that I can think of that would make an octopus regenerate."

Kuwabara vaguely remembered hearing that name but pushed it aside to focus on the demon. In the center of its head a strange dim light emitted from the creature, and he could barely make out the shape of a shard of something.

"Is it that thing in the middle of its forehead?"

Shippo turned to ask Kuwabara why he was asking him, when he realized the human was mostly unaware of the Shikon no Tama. "Probably, we have to get that out before we can kill it. Naraku probably gave it a shard of the jewel so it could take us out."

"Well, we'll have to let him know that we're not that easy to kill. I can make my spirit sword longer, but the longer it gets the less accurate I'll be. How can we get closer?"

"Leave that to me," Shippo hopped off of Kuwabara's shoulder. "Transform!"

Kuwabara blinked a little at the larger bird standing in front of him, before shaking his head. "Let's go!"

* * *

"Yuusuke." He turned around at the sound of his name. Blinking in shock at the sight of the person standing in front of him, his mouth started opening and closing no sound coming out.

"Botan?" he grinned, turning around and hugging the girl tightly, while his other hand drifted significantly lower.

The people on the street just walked around them, no one bothering to tell the two that they were taking up space, mostly because they valued their lives.

"Yuusuke, this isn't the time. I'm glad to see you, but something has come up. Koenma needs to speak to you."

"We're going to have to save the world again, aren't we." he groaned.

"I'm afraid so."

"So, where's the suitcase?"

"What?"

"Video tape?"

"Yuusuke, what are you talking about?"

"You said the toddler needed to talk to me, how's he going to do that if I don't have a means of communication to do so?"

Botan sighed. Same old Yuusuke, never using his head.

"Yuusuke, Koenma not supposed to contact you anymore, any of our old methods of communication can be tracked by King Enma."

"So, I'm going to Reikai?"

There were times Botan missed being able to spend time with Yuusuke, and being his assistant. Of course, there were other times when she really didn't, and right now was one of those times. "Yuusuke, just follow me."

* * *

It had been eighteen hours, twenty-one minutes and some seconds since Souta had been kidnapped. It had been seventeen hours, twenty-one… twenty-two minutes and a few seconds since Shippo's illusion had worn off, and they'd realized it had actually been Shippo who had been taken. It had been five minutes since Kagome had last cursed Naraku's name.

She'd gone through a frustrating day of school; everybody had been on her case because she couldn't concentrate. What was she supposed to do? Ignore the fact that her kit, had been nabbed while saving her brother. Ignore the fact that while she sat safely in her classroom, Shippo was probably being tortured to death. Ignore the fact that— How had Sango done this? !

It was frustrating; all her friends cared about was Hojou and her "bad boy boyfriend". But then again, that wasn't exactly fair. They didn't know what was wrong with her, and if they did (assuming they didn't lock her up in a wacky house), they would have been more understanding.

"So, Kagome, how's Inuyasha." Ayumi asked.

"Is he in town?" Yuka cut in.

"Yeah, Kagome, how come we've only met him that one time?" Eri joined the fray.

"He's fine, I'm not sure, and he doesn't come around often or for very long."

The other three stared at Kagome confused, silently wondering what her problem was. Kagome blinked before realizing the way she was acting.

"I'm sorry guys, it's just that—"

She didn't have time to finish whatever lie she was about to make up. Ayumi had let out a scream as her long curly hair was fisted and yanked by someone, dragging her into the alleyway they had almost passed.

"Let her go!" Eri cried, following Kagome who had dashed in after Ayumi. Yuka gasped, whipping out her phone and calling the police at the sound of a loud slap followed by a cry of 'You bitch!'

Kagome yanked Ayumi out of reach of the guy who was now clutching his face in pain. "That ought to teach that creeper a lesson! Way to go, Kagome!" Eri cried out.

"Thanks Kagome." Ayumi was trembling slightly, and so Kagome pulled her into a hug.

"It was no problem, let's go."

"Where do you think you girlies are going?" a voice from deeper inside the alleyway questioned.

"Home." Kagome replied, turning on her heels.

Eri let out a scream as somebody grabbed her shirt and pulled her away from her friends. A knife cut through her shirt, and the struggling Eri went straight to the ground. Immediately she began crab walking backwards. "Thanks for making my life easier, babe." Her legs were yanked forward, causing her arms to give out and her head to smash into the floor. Somebody crawled over her and she could feel the panic kicking in.

Kagome shoved Ayumi towards the street and launched herself at the guy; she only had one shot to do this. Once in range, she shot her leg at the guys face; kicking him under the chin, raising his head a bit. His head went up enough for her to deliver a devastating slap to his cheek sending him spiraling to the ground. Grabbing Eri's hand, she pulled the girl up and shoved her towards their other friends.

She let out a gasp when something smashed into her head, sending her spiraling to the ground. Her name being screamed was the last thing she heard before she passed out.

* * *

"Koenma, why are you a toddler? Don't you normally come here in your 'cool' older teen form?"

"Yuusuke, that form requires me to use energy."

A blank stare.

"Why did I hire you again?"

"Because I'm an ass kicking expert, and the exact opposite of Sensui."

"He also died at a convenient time." Botan added.

Koenma sighed. "That sounds about right. Thankfully, Kurama has enough brains for the two of you."

"What about Kuwabara?" Botan asked.

"Kurama should have enough brains for Yuusuke. Kuwabara doesn't need Kurama's brain anymore; he is at the top of his class."

"Hey! If I could kindly remind everyone of the science test we both took."

"You took a science test?" Koenma raised an eyebrow.

"Before I died."

"Which time?" Botan giggled.

"The first time wise guy. Kuwabara got a seven, and I got a twelve, so I'm smarter!"

"That may be true, Yuusuke, however Kuwabara's school work has shown an astounding amount of improvement." Kurama's smooth voice cut in.

"As have my ass kicking skills."

"Kurama, where's Kuwabara?" Botan asked.

"I couldn't locate him, and Shizuru still has no idea as to where he could possibly be."

"Damnit! For this mission you guys are going to need his spiritual awareness."

"Calm down, Koenma, I'm sure our spiritual awareness combined should be more than enough."

Everyone turned to stare at Yuusuke. Silence reigned for a moment, only to be shattered by laughter.

"What spiritual awareness!" Botan managed to ask between fits of laughter.

"Kurama's and min—" he was cut off by Koenma rolling off his chair.

"Kurama, what the fuck is so funny?"

"The thought of you with spiritual awareness." Botan answered.

"What? I have plenty of spiritual awareness!"

More laughter.

"If you don't stop laughing, I'm going to leave!"

Silence again.

"Yuusuke, you've never trained or practice your spiritual awareness. It's only slightly higher than when you first became a spirit detective." Koenma explained calmly.

"What? That's not possible!"

"It is."

"What do you need our assistance with?" Kurama cut in, destroying the chance of the upcoming arguments.

"A demon, he was much stronger than even an S-Class." All eyes turned to him.

"What? Is that even possible, Koenma?" Koenma turned his eyes to look into Botan's worried ones.

"It is. As you know the three worlds have existed for millenniums. However, it was only in the past three or four hundred years that they were enforced."

"What do you mean?" Yuusuke was actually interested in what Koenma had to say for once.

"Demons used to roam the human realm all the time, without consequence. Because of that, they had an extremely large food source, which in turn caused them to become extremely powerful. In fact, currently the most common demons are the E-Class, but back then it was the B-Class that mostly roamed. In a sense, their E-Class was our B-Class.

"So, when the demons were forced into Makai, there were several demons that were much stronger than an S-Class."

"But?" Yuusuke said.

"But, quite a few of them were human eaters, and so they died in these past few years, or they became weaker as time wore on. Actually, all demons became weaker as time wore on and they were cut off from their food source. There are still a few alive, lurking in the bowels of Makai. This demon that just appeared out of nowhere is of that class… or should I say these demons."

"What are you talking about, Koenma?" The alarm rang in Kurama's voice.

"The energy signal of thousands upon thousands of demons, all around a B-Class, was caught traveling in the Ningenkai. The way it was transmitted suggests they were all combined into one form, making it much stronger than your average S-Class."

"Well, there only B-Class, how can they amount to an S-Class."

"Yuusuke," Botan started, "it would be like fighting a thousand Toguros in one sitting."

"Oh."

What else could he say?

* * *

"Kagome!" Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi cried in unison.

Five guys appeared more guys appeared from the alleyway, the guy that Kagome had first slapped tossing the pole to the ground.

"Little bitch! I get her first." Eri's attacker sneered picking himself off the ground.

"I don't think so!" Eyes snapped over to the newcomer.

"Aren't you a pretty little flower?"

Sango snorted, her eyes darting over to the three girls shaking in fear. "You girls should get out of here."

"We can't leave Kagome here!" Yuka cried.

Sango blinked but nodded.

"Come on, baby. Come play with us." One of them flipped out a knife, and Sango raised an eyebrow at him.

"You want to play? Okay." And she lunged.

* * *

Shippo watched in amazement as Kuwabara picked up the jewel shard. It became a much lighter colour despite a bit of the murky taint remained in the center of the shard. "We have to find a way to fully purify that."

"Huh, it gets even purer?"

"Yup, but you're not Kagome or Kikyo, so you can't fully purify it."

"What if it touches the other shard?"

Shippo blinked a little, what other shard? Oh.

He jumped up, snatched the shard from Kuwabara's hand, ran across his body, lifted his shirt, and placed their newly acquired jewel shard against the one in his back.

Instantly, the shard became the bright pink it was when Kagome touched it. Giggling, he ran back around Kuwabara's body and handed it to him. "See."

"Wow, that's pretty." Kuwabara mumbled. "Shall we continue looking for a way back to Ningenkai?"

"What?"

"Home." Kuwabara said.

"Yup!" he chirped in reply. His stomach growled. "Umm, can we find some food first?"

"Sure, it'll be no problem. Let's go, Shippo!" He slipped the jewel shard into a sack that held a necklace he planned to give to Yukina.

"Yeah!"

"You have it!" a voiced hissed.

"What?" Kuwabara and Shippo asked in unison.

"I don't know what it is, but it beckons me, offering me the ultimate power!"

"What's he talking about?" Kuwabara asked.

"He can probably sense the jewel shard!"

Kuwabara heard the little voice in his head scream at him to move to the left. As always, he listened to it. The demon's claw left deep gorges where he had been standing seconds before. A large… they had no idea what it was standing before them.

"Lunch is going to have to wait, isn't it?" Shippo groaned.

Kuwabara didn't answer, just sighed and summoned his spirit sword.

* * *

"Any leads, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked as Inuyasha returned from his search.

"No." was the growled response.

Miroku sighed and crossed his arms, wandering how both Naraku and the demons could have vanished off the face of the Earth. That just wasn't possible unless... That was it!

"Inuyasha, I think I know where Naraku is!"

"Where? Why didn't you say so earlier!"

"I thought it was a rumour, it never occured to me it could be real!"

"I don't care, where is he?"

"In Makai."

"Where? You can't just make places up!"

"I'll explain later, when Kagome and Sango return."

"No, you'll explain right now!"

* * *

"So?"

"This is Yukina, his love interest." A picture of the ice maiden was placed in front of him. "This is Shizuru, his older sister." Another picture. "At the top is Kurama, and at the bottom from left to right, Hiei, Yuusuke, Keiko, Botan. They are his closest friends and, with the exception of the girls, powerful fighters." The last picture.

"Can you get me more information on his friends?"

"No, but Hiei lives here in the Makai; Yuusuke and Kurama reside in Ningenkai. Is that enough my lord?"

"To live?"

"Yes."

"Of course." He watched as the demon breathed a sigh of relief. "You can live as a part of me." In a flash the demon had been absorbed.

"Naraku," he looked up at the intruder. "I believe that the girl Yukina is also Hiei's sister."

"What makes you think that, Kanna?"

"It's in the eyes."

He didn't respond thinking over his options carefully.

"Has Kagura been sufficiently broken."

"Yes, Naraku."

"And Kohaku?"

"Yes, Naraku."

He chuckled. Those fools, they probably didn't even realize it. He could absorb and detach anyone and everyone at will. They wouldn't be expecting Kagura or Kohaku. This was almost too easy. All he needed now was to get his hands on Shippo and Yukina. After all, you can never have too many hostages.

**TBC**

Hehehehe, how many of you though it would be Inuyasha coming to save the day? Not this time. In the next chapter there should be even more Kuwabara and Shippo, Yay!


	3. The Venus Fly Trap Trap

**IMPORTANT AN ** Spoilers Alert **:** The timeline for this fic is completely fucked up. When I first wrote the two chapters I hadn't read to the end of the series and so now, I have weird ass plot holes that can't be completely plugged. SO in order for this to make any sense in regards to the series, assume that Hakudoshi and Akago never targeted Kohaku for his shard, and therefore Kagura was never forced to save him. Other than that insert a random moment for Kagome to re-shatter the jewel **after **she gets her bow from Mt. Azusa. Oh yeah, and give Sesshoumaru a sad teary moment where he feels rage on behalf of someone else in order for Tenseiga to be reforged into a weapon... and then let him let Inuyasha destroy it. Now that I'm done **spoiling** the series for you, enjoy the chapter.

The "Venus Fly Trap" Trap

"This is so wrong." Kuwabara mumbled. He stared at the "meat" he had procured and was slowly cooking over a fire.

"Eh," Shippo shrugged "food is food."

"Have you ever eaten a demon before?" Kuwabara asked as he stared at the remains of a cow demon of sorts.

They had found a huge herd of them all gathered in a clearing doing nothing but staring stupidly into space. It hadn't been hard to kill one and drag it back, though Kuwabara had been paranoid when none of the other demons in the herd seemed to react.

"No, but it can't be too horrible." Shippo stated with a yawn.

Kuwabara nearly let out a whimper as he realized the meat was probably as cooked as it was going to get. After setting up more to cook, he handed Shippo a portion that was ready to be consumed.

It was with an empty stomach and quite a bit of worry that Kuwabara lifted the flesh to his mouth and took his first bite of demon.

"Oh my god." Shippo whispered as he unknowingly echoed Kuwabara's thoughts.

**DtCW**

Sango forced herself to pull her blow back a bit, as her fist smashed into the man's face. With a cry of pain he dropped the knife, and clutched his nose. She didn't have to turn around to know that another man was creeping up on her turned back and calmly executed a roundhouse kick that knocked the whimpering man onto the floor and gave her the momentum to perform a second roundhouse kick on the coward behind her.

With a quick burst of speed she slammed her elbow into the nose of the male hovering above Kagome and her knee dove straight into his neck causing him to clutch at his throat and gasp for breath. Sensing danger from her blind side, she brought her arm up to block as a metal pole smashed into her arm. With barely a wince of pain and a swift push-and-pull motion the man was disarmed and on the ground in pain as Sango delivered a solid blow to his solar plexus.

Grabbing Kagome, Sango hoisted her over her shoulder with ease. Narrowing her eyes, she regarded the three other males as they watched her nervously. "Unless you want to end up like your friends, I'd suggest that you get out of my way."

One of the guys sneered and opened his mouth to reply but another grabbed him and shook his head 'no'. With a satisfied smirk, Sango strutted out of the alleyway with an unconscious Kagome who was beginning to show signs of awakening.

"OMG! Thank you so much for your help! You're amazing!" Yuka cried as they began walking away from the alley.

Sango blinked at them, wondering if she should ask what 'OMG' meant. "It was no problem, I would never let something like that to happen to Kagome when I'm standing five feet away."

"Kagome?"

"What?" Sango said staring at Eri confused.

"Why are you calling her Kagome?"

"Because that's her name..." Sango said, watching the girl wearily.

"It is," Eri said, "but, how do you know that?"

Sango opened her mouth to say something but she was cut off by a loud mew. "Kirara, there you are! I was wondering where you wandered off to."

The three girls stared in shock as a cat with two tails wandered over to them. Before they could ask questions though, Kagome let out a loud groan and Sango carefully placed her on her feet.

"Kagome, how are you feeling?" Sango asked.

Eri opened her mouth to question Sango's way of addressing the girl when Kagome blinked in surprise. "Sango, what are you doing here?"

"From the looks of it, saving you from a very unpleasant situation."

"Thanks, Sango, and oh my god! What are you wearing?"

Sango quirked an eyebrow at Kagome in confusion before remembering that she wasn't wearing either of her two normal outfits. Instead she was wearing a pair of the girl's sweatpants that were too big and a t-shirt that belonged to Kagome's mom.

"Your mom thought that this would be more appropriate for me to wear here."

"Sango, you are probably the only person alive that is able to make sweatpants and a t-shirt look good."

"Thanks, Kago—"

"Wait a sec, you two know each other!" Yuka cried.

"Yeah," Kagome smiled at her friends. "I met Sango a couple of years ago, and she's practically my big sister now."

Kirara let out another mew before pawing at Sango, and nudging her head in the direction of the Higurashi Shrine. The group of girls all stared at the small demon.

"Does that cat have two tails?" Yuka yelped, staring at Kirara in shock.

Sango lips twitched as she watched Kagome's eyes widen while the girl waved her arms frantically, attempting to babble out an excuse.

"She has a... genetic mutation." Sango explained, the foreign term did not come out nearly as smooth as she would have liked it, but judging from the looks of understanding the faces of Kagome's friends, it had come out just find. Standing up, and brushing the dirt off her pants she offered a hand up to the still lying Kagome. "It looks like she came to get us, the boys probably have some news for us."

Pulling herself to her feet, Kagome nodded her head in agreement. "You're right. It was nice walking with you guys, but I have to get home now. I'll talk to you later!" she cried out tugging on Sango's arm as she jogged down the street. "Okay, that genetic mutation excuse was amazing, where did you come up with it?"

"Oh that?" Sango mused, "Your mom told me to say that if anyone asked."

Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi stared at their retreating backs. "Is it just me, or is Kagome acting totally bizarre?"

"Yeah, I guess, but whose that new big sister? She's never mentioned her before?" Eri grumbled.

"Oh my," Ayumi murmured, "I wonder if that girl knows Inuyasha."

"What makes you say that?" Yuka demanded, "We've only met him once, and we're her best friends!"

"Well, Sango did say that 'the boys' might have news for them, so it stands to reason that one of the boys might have been Inuyasha."

"I guess there's only one thing left to do!" Eri cried out. "We'll just have to go over there and check out these boys ourselves."

"We can go tomorrow, and do a last minute cram for the math test in two days!" Yuka added.

**DtCW**

It was amazing. Whatever they were eating tasted so damn good, that Kuwabara honestly thought he could live on this and nothing more for the rest of his life. It was perfectly roasted and succulent and juicy and so damn tasty! Juices from the meat dripped down his chin but he couldn't be bothered to care as he continued to try and cram as much demon flesh down his throat as he possibly could.

Every bite after bite after bite convinced him that there was nothing better on this planet than what he was currently cramming into his mouth. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Shippo was doing the same thing as him, though there was a loud growl that came out of his throat every once in a while as he viciously tore through the meat with his teeth.

In a matter of only ten minutes they had finished an entire cow demon and despite his aching stomach which begged for him not to eat anymore, Kuwabara knew he had to have more of the delicious demon.

**DtCW**

"Well, this is the spot." Kurama murmured as he looked around the small park. By the amount of damage and the scent of blood it was fairly obvious that a fight had broken out here. Taking another deep breath to calm his mind and allow him to better analyze the scene for clues, he gasped as an unmistakable scent met his nose.

"What is it?" Yuusuke asked as he glanced around the park bored.

"Kuwabara… I can smell Kuwabara's blood."

"What?" Yuusuke cried running over to Kurama.

"It's faint, but he was definitely here."

"So the reason Koenma is unable to locate Kuwabara is because Kuwabara is already caught up in this."

Before the two could continue to speculate on this new discovery, they were interrupted by a worried cry. "Yuusuke, you won't believe what's happened." Botan came flying down on her oar as soon as she had them in her sights.

"What's wrong now?" Yuusuke grumbled.

"Yukina has been kidnapped!"

"What do you mean, Yukina has been kidnapped?" Yuusuke shrieked.

"Exactly what it sounds like, Yuusuke." Botan said. "We have no idea where she could be. There was a large swarm of demons that headed towards Genkai's shrine, and in a blink of an eye, both Yukina and the demons were gone."

"They headed towards Genkai's shrine, is the old bat alright?"

"Yes, she's fine. However we're going to have to do something about this before Hiei finds out."

"Before I find out what?" The three froze in their spots. Slowly they turned around to confront the dangerous demon that could slit their throats faster than any of them could blink.

"Oh, hey, Hiei. How are you this fine evening?" Botan let out a nervous laugh as she cautiously edged her way behind Yuusuke.

"What's going on?" the short demon growled at them.

"Oh man, why couldn't Kuwabara be here? Hiei can never sneak up on us when he's around."

"Don't make me repeat myself."

"Well, you see, Hiei," Kurama began as he ran his fingers through his hair before quickly flipping it over his shoulder. "It would appear that Yukina has been kidnapped among other things."

"What." Hiei snarled at them as he crouched. In a split second he had launched himself to the others, shoved Yuusuke to the ground and held his blade against Botan's throat… or at least that's what would have happened if he hadn't ended up face planting into the unforgiving dirt he once stood upon.

With another angry snarl, he ignored Yuusuke's rambunctious laughter and examined his legs. Vines, thin vines were wound around his legs holding them in place.

'_That damn fox.'_ He had tossed the seeds at him under the pretense of playing with his hair.

"Well, Hiei, it's good that you've decided to drop by and listen to what's been going on. I have a few theories as to what might be going on."

"Oh?"

"Kuwabara has disappeared, and whatever is going on, he's probably doing his best to contain it. Now, it wouldn't be that much of a surprise if whoever is behind this knows about Kuwabara's feelings for Yukina, and are using her to control him."

Hiei was silent for a moment. "I'm going to kill him." he declared.

Yuusuke snickered. "It's funny because he's been saying that for years now."

"Let's head to Genkai's shrine after we finish here," Botan suggested, "We can look for clues as to Yukina's whereabouts there."

**DtCW**

It was taking too long to get there, he thought to himself. Even with his massive strides he still had not arrived at the herd. He could hear Shippo encouraging him to pick up the pace, as he broke into a sprint.

Drool began to slide down his chin as he got closer with every step.

He had to have more.

**DtCW**

"Miroku, will you just tell me already!" Inuyasha yelled, lips pulled back as a growl built up in the back of his throat.

"Now, now, Inuyasha, patience is a virtue."

"I'd be a hell of a lot more patient, if you'd stop twiddling your thumbs and tell me where Naraku is!"

"And, what, Inuyasha, is the point of telling this theory twice, and answering the same questions twice, when I could simply do all of that at once?"

"The point is I won't be forced to kick your ass if you tell me now."

Miroku raised an eyebrow at him.

"What? What's with that look?"

"Mama! I'm home!" Kagome's voice rang out, and the sound of a door slamming shut followed. They could hear the soft murmurs of Sango as she asked Kagome where the boys were.

"We're in the..." Miroku slowly began to trail off, "We're in the room with the moving picture box!"

Seconds later, Kagome and Sango walked into the room. "Did you guys manage to figure anything out?" Kagome asked, settling herself down on the couch.

Sango delicately sat herself beside the girl, body tensing as her form sank into the plush cushion ever so slightly.

"Miroku did, but he refuses to tell me anything!"

"In other words," Miroku stated, "I decided it would be better to wait for you two to arrive, and tell everyone at once."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha and grinned as Inuyasha crossed his arms and scowled, to all those who knew him, it was actually much closer to a pout than anything else.

"Well, they're here now, so talk."

"Do you guys remember during the Soun'ga incident I explained the three worlds theory in relation to the three swords?"

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha grumbled, "And, what does that have to do with anything?"

"You weren't there, Inuyasha. But, he said there were three worlds. Heaven, Hell, and Earth. The Tenseiga, represents Heaven, the Soun'ga, represented Hell, and the Tetsuaiga, represents Earth." Sango informed them.

"Precisely. What I didn't mention was that the Three World Theory, was based off of the Four World Theory."

"What's that?" Kagome asked.

"And why are you telling us this?"

"Patience, Inuyasha, I'm getting there. The Four World Theory states that thousand of years ago the world was separated into four sections by a barrier. The Demon Realm, a land where demons reside, the Human Real,, a realm where humans reside, the Netherworld, the place where demon souls are sent, and the Spirit Realm, the place where human souls are sent.

The Netherworld was destroyed in a conflict with the Spirit Realm, and its destruction led to the creation of the Three World theory I told you. The Demon Realm represented by Hell, the Spirit Realm represented by Heaven, and The Human Realm represented by Earth.

Now, assuming this is all true, that means every demon is currently in the Demon Realm. That would explain why I haven't sensed a single demon here since we arrived. Demons are the superior species, I highly doubt that they died out, or that us humans managed to drive them back."

"How can we check if all this is true?"

"I'm not really sure."

Inuyasha began to twitch, and Miroku casually scooted away from him.

"So, we need to figure out a way to get into the Demon Realm, right?" Kagome asked, cocking her head to the side. "If it's behind a barrier, the Tetsuaiga should be able to cut through it, and let us pass..."

"If we do that," Sango started, "wouldn't we have to worry about demons escaping?"

"Ehehehe, it looks like you are all in need of my large expanse of knowledge, aren't you?"

The group turned to stare at the entrance of the living room, where Kagome's grandfather stood.

"Not really, grandpa, we can figure this out." Kagome smiled at him.

"Oh, you don't want to know how to get into the Demon Realm?"

"You know how to get there?" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"Of course I do!"

"Of course he does." Kagome grumbled under her breath, as she rose to her feet. "Now, grandpa, I'm sure you have a wealth of knowledge about this topic, but we really need to discuss our travel plans." Kagome wrapped her arms around her grandfather and gently began to lead him out of the room.

"You don't believe me, Kagome?" he asked, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Of course I believe you!"

"Well, it's good to see you've learned from past experiences, like when you didn't believe demons or the Shikon Jewel was real."

Kagome groaned, and changed directions leading the old man to the couch instead of the kitchen. She grumbled under her breath as she watched her grandfather chuckle to himself.

"Now, in order to find a way to the Demon Realm, you'll have to find Genkai."

"Whose Genkai?" Sango asked.

"A psychic of unparalleled ability. She'll be able to help you find a way to where you're going."

"How do you know Genkai?" Kagome asked.

"Why, I've been following her since my youth! She was one of my idols growing up!"

_Oh great, _Kagome thought, _I'm being sent from one senile old person to another_.

**DtCW**

He was here. He could see them all in the distance, his chest was heaving and his face was covered in saliva, but he made it. His jaw started twitching, as he thought about sinking his teeth into one. Faster, he thought to himself, and broke out into a run.

_Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there! Almost there!_

_STOP!_ Kuwabara stumbled as his train of thought was interrupted. Shippo began to whine in his ear. He looked around, forcing himself to stop thinking about the herd in front of him. Something had set him off. Something wasn't quite right.

**DtCW**

There was very little damage done to the shrine, Yuusuke noted relived. "Hey, you old bag, you still alive in there?" He called out as he barreled his way into the temple.

"Pipe down, Yuusuke, I'm old, not deaf." Genkai grumbled as she limped into the entrance room.

"What happened here?"

"A portal opened up on the shrine property, and a bunch of demons came through it. They went straight for Yukina, and tried to escape."

"What do you mean tried to escape?" Kurama asked.

"It would be better if I showed you." Slowly, Genkai made her way out of the shrine, and led them to the forest behind her temple. There, they saw a pocket of distorted air. "I managed to shatter the portal they were escaping through, so some of them escaped, but the rest were forced to remain behind."

"This portal," Botan mumbled, as she leaned closer to examine it. "I think we might be able to repair it."

"Really?" Yuusuke asked.

"Yeah, it might take us a while, but we should be able to fix it enough that you can use it."

"How long?" Hiei grunted.

"About a week, give or take a few days?"

"It had better be take." Without a warning, Hiei vanished from where he had been standing.

**DtCW**

"Shippo, wait a sec." Kuwabara whispered as his spirit awareness warned him not to take another step.

"But why, Kazuma? They're just standing there. Waiting for us…" The fox demon trailed off as he began salivating at the thought of the tasty demon flesh not too far from them.

"I know, but let's just wait a few minutes or so." With that said Kuwabara scooped Shippo up into his arms and took another giant step back from the clearing in front of them.

Suddenly a large demon stormed into the clearing they had been contemplating entering. It let out a large roar as it began to devour everything insight. Its large fangs sinking not only into flesh of the cow demons, but even into the ground as it tried to stuff its face.

"Kuwabara, we have to do something! It's going to eat all of them." Kuwabara grunted in agreement, but still had not intention of taking another step in the same direction as the clearing.

Something was going to happen. Something big, he could sense it.

Shippo squirmed and growled as he tried to get out of Kuwabara's suddenly iron grip. As the seconds ticked by he began to get more and more desperate to get to the herd of cow demons before the large demon ahead could finish devouring them all. He began foaming slightly in his hunger and was about to bite Kuwabara's fingers off in order to get to the feeding grounds just in front of them, when Kuwabara suddenly leapt back a few more feet, shocking him witless for a few moments. After those few moments he began squirming once again.

The ground began to shake. It started as a very small tremor that quickly began to progress into large shakes that caused Kuwabara to struggle to stay balanced. As minutes passed by the ground began to change before their eyes. The compact dirt became soft and malleable as it allowed the demon in the midst of a feeding frenzy to sink in. Slowly, everything in the clearing in front of them was being sucked into the ground. As if that wasn't bad enough, they watched horrified as think tendrils of wet flesh shot out from the ground and wrapped around the still feasting demon.

It never noticed.

After a few more moments of this, everything in the clearing had been pulled underground, most likely to be devoured. Shippo stopped struggling as he realized that there were no more demons to devour.

Another rumble passed through the ground beneath them, and slowly the cows started to reappear. Mutely, Kuwabara began walking away, carrying a limp Shippo who was gazing behind them hungrily. There was only one though on his mind.

'_That could have been us.'_

**TBC**


End file.
